a. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to methods and devices for remanufacturing printer cartridge components, and in particular, to methods and devices for remanufacturing laser printer cartridge components by remanufacturing used organic photoconductor (OPC) flange portions of assembled OPC drums flanges and attaching or assembling such used OPC flange portions to replacement OPC drum cylinder portions.
b. Background Art
Printer cartridges, such as toner cartridges, are used in various electrophotographic imaging devices, such as laser printers, copiers, facsimile machines, and multifunction imaging devices. Once original equipment manufacturer (OEM) printer cartridges are used, they are often recycled and remanufactured. The process of remanufacturing a printer cartridge may include cleaning the cartridge, repairing damaged parts, replacing worn parts, reassembling with new parts, and replenishing the cartridge with toner. The process of remanufacturing a printer cartridge requires that the printer cartridge be disassembled so that access to the various parts can be achieved, and further requires that the printer cartridge be reassembled for subsequent use.
Printer cartridges typically include organic photoconductive (OPC) drums that may be designed to be electrically charged to be able to attract toner. An assembled OPC drum typically comprises a cylinder portion and a flange or gear portion, where the flange portion may be inserted into one end of the cylinder portion and may be attached to that end of the cylinder portion with an adhesive or glue and/or a known attachment or assembly process. One known attachment or assembly process may include a crimping process that involves crimping or pinching of the end of the cylinder portion once the flange portion is inserted in order to keep the flange portion in place. The OPC drum cylinder portion may wear out from usage at a faster rate than the flange portion and may need to be replaced during remanufacturing, while the flange portion may be reused. However, the flange portion may be attached to the OPC drum cylinder portion in a manner that makes the flange portion difficult to remove from the OPC drum cylinder portion, and when removal of the flange portion from the OPC drum cylinder portion is attempted, such removal may cause damage to the flange portion, so that the flange portion could not be reused. For example, such known assembled OPC drums with attached flange portions for color laser printer applications may include a flange lock on the flange portion that helps to lock the flange portion in place and/or to lock the flange portion to the OPC drum cylinder portion. Further, such flange portion may also include a grounding plate with contact portions attached to the flange portion.
During remanufacturing of such known OPC flange portions attached to known OPC drum cylinder portions, known hand tools, such as screwdrivers, pliers, spring hooks, and scraping tools, may be typically used to pry off and separate the flange portion from the OPC drum cylinder portion and/or may be used to push out and remove the flange portion from the OPC drum cylinder portion in order to remove the flange portion from the OPC drum cylinder portion. However, if not used carefully and properly, such known hand tools may damage the flange portion, for example, may damage the plastic walls of the flange portion, or may damage the grounding plate or contact portions of the grounding plate, or other portions of the flange portion. In particular, damage to the plastic walls of the flange portion or damage to the grounding plate or contact portions of the grounding plate may affect or prevent reuse and remanufacturing of the used flange portion with a replacement OPC drum cylinder portion.
It is thus desirable to be able to remove and replace the used flange portion on a used flanged OPC drum without damage to the used flange portion, including, for example, the plastic walls of the flange portion, the grounding plate of the flange portion, and the contact portions of the grounding plate. This helps preserve the appearance of the used flange portion and the ability to reuse and reassemble the used flange portion, and minimizes remanufacturing steps. Devices and methods for efficiently and quickly removing a used OPC flange portion from a used OPC drum cylinder portion, and reusing the used OPC flange portion with a replacement or new OPC drum cylinder portion are desired.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method and device for remanufacturing printer cartridge components, including reusing used OPC flange portions of assembled OPC drums and attaching or assembling such used OPC flange portions to replacement OPC drum cylinder portions, that overcomes the issues associated with known devices and methods.